Category Archives: Moses Williams

Remembering Moses Williams

December 14, 2025 Faye Anderson

Master silhouette artist Moses Wlliams passed away on December 13, 1830. Born into slavery in August 1776, Moses lived in the shadow of his enslaver, Charles Willson Peale. Moses grew up in the same household with Peale’s children, but he was denied the opportunity to learn the fine art of painting that was afforded his enslaver’s children.

Moses made a way out of no way. He excelled as a silhouette artist and earned a place in history. Moses’ Pennsylvania historical marker will be dedicated in 2026, the 250th anniversary of his birth.

Moses was interred at Northwest Burial Ground on December 20, 1830. Sometime between 1853 and 1868, the burial ground was sold, the bodies disinterred, and a church constructed on the site. Some of the remains were removed to Section 203 at Mount Moriah Cemetery in 1868 under a monument that reads: “Sacred to the memory of the dead whose remains were removed from the 16th and Coates St. Cemetery of St. Georges M. E. Church Philadelphia to this place in the year 1868.”

Mount Moriah has no record that Moses’ remains were among those reinterred in Section 203. In the absence of a final resting place, I plastered the only known image of Moses in Freeman Alley, a graffitied place of remembrance in New York City.

Pasting over others’ stickers is part of the culture of Freeman Alley.

When Moses Williams’ historical marker is unveiled in 2026, he will have a permanent place in public memory.

The dedication ceremony is open to the public. If you are interested in attending, send your name and email address to phillyjazzapp@gmail.com.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage, Moses Williams

Visit a Cemetery Day 2025

October 26, 2025 Faye Anderson

The last Sunday in October is Visit a Cemetery Day. It’s an annual observance to promote a connection with the past, honor the memories of those who came before us, and appreciate the historical and cultural significance of cemeteries.

Before cities built public parks, cemeteries were the first green spaces open to everyone. In the 19th century, rural cemeteries were designed as peaceful, landscaped grounds where people could walk, picnic and reflect. Their winding paths, trees, and gardens offered an escape from crowded urban life. These “cities of the dead” influenced the design of public parks. Historic cemeteries like Laurel Hill in Philadelphia and Green-Wood in New York City remain vital, beautiful green spaces.

That history was lost on me in my youth. When I was in high school, I avoided taking the shortcut to school because I did not want to walk through a cemetery. Fast forward to today, St. Peter’s Churchyard is a stop on my Moses Williams’ Philadelphia walking tour. St. Peter’s is the final resting place of Moses’ enslaver, Charles Willson Peale.

Master silhouette artist Moses Williams was interred in Northwest Burial Ground on December 20, 1830.

At the time, the cemetery was located at 16th and Fairmount. Sometime between 1860 and 1875, the Northwest Burial Ground was sold, the bodies disinterred, and the land developed. The bodies were reinterred in Mount Moriah Cemetery in West Philadelphia. So presumably that’s where Moses’ remains are located.

I’m digging in the archives to confirm that Mount Moriah is indeed Moses’ final resting place. I want to find his remains so that I can see that Moses’ grave is kept clean.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage Preservation, Moses Williams, Walking Tour

Moses Williams’ Philadelphia Walking Tour

September 28, 2025 Faye Anderson 1 Comment

October is National Arts and Humanities Month. All That Philly Jazz Director Faye Anderson will lead a walking tour of the people, places and events in Moses Williams’ Philadelphia.

The first Black museum professional and master silhouette artist, Moses Williams was born into slavery in August 1776 in the household of Charles Willson Peale, “Portrait Painter of the Revolution.”

Faye successfully nominated Moses Williams (1776-1830) for a Pennsylvania historical marker. The marker will be dedicated in 2026, the 250th anniversary of his birth.

The walk and talk will start at 3rd and Lombard streets, near the site of the home of Charles Willson Peale, and end at Philosophical Hall, near the proposed location for installation of Moses Williams’ historical marker (.06 mile).

Points of interest along the way include:

Site of the home of entrepreneur and abolitionist James Forten;
Charles Willson Peale’s gravesite;
Church where George Washington and Absalom Jones worshipped;
Site of the home of Francis Johnson, the forefather of jazz;
Site of the first Black Episcopal church in the United States;
Locations of Peale’s Museum; and
Organization founded by Benjamin Franklin that has a collection of Moses Williams’ silhouettes.

The walking tour will be held on select Saturdays in October, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Buy Tickets

Advocacy, Artificial Intelligence, Moses Williams

Independence Hall

July 6, 2025 Faye Anderson

As the descendant of enslaved people, I mourn the Fourth of July.

That said, Independence Hall has a prominent place in Black history.

Independence Hall is the place where the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776; 34 of the 56 signers, including Thomas Jefferson, enslaved Black people.

Independence Hall is the place where the U.S. Constitution, which counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person and mandated that freedom seekers be returned to bondage, was signed.

Independence Hall is the place where, from 1850 to 1854, hearings were held to return the self-emancipated to slavery under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Independence Hall is the place where master silhouette artist Moses Williams worked “every day and evening.”

I have nominated Moses for a Pennsylvania historical marker. If the nomination is approved, the marker will be installed near Independence Hall in 2026.

UPDATE: My nomination was approved. Moses Williams’ historical marker will be dedicated in 2026, the 250th anniversary of his birth.

In the meantime, All That Philly Jazz Founding Director Faye Anderson will lead a walking tour, Moses Williams’ Philadelphia.

Historic Preservation, Moses Williams

May is Preservation Month

May 4, 2025 Faye Anderson

Preservation Month is an annual celebration dedicated to promoting the importance of preserving historic places and cultural heritage. This year’s theme is “The Power of Place.”

I kicked off the celebration by walking the streets of Old City, the same streets that master silhouette artist Moses Williams walked.

Moses died on December 18, 1830. If he were to come back from the dead, he would recognize many of the places in his old neighborhood, including:

Independence Hall
Philosophical Hall
Christ Church
Christ Church Burial Ground
Free Quaker Meeting House
Arch Street Meeting House
Loxley Court
Elfreth’s Alley
St. George’s Methodist Church

Moses lived at 10 Sterling Alley (now Orianna Street). Once paved with cobblestones, the granite blocks of Orianna Street were added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places’ Historic Street Paving Thematic District in 1998.

On my upcoming walking tour, “Moses Williams’ Neighborhood,” I will share undertold stories and breathe new life into Old City. The tour will begin at the State House (Independence Hall) and end at Sterling Alley.

The walk and talk will be held on Saturdays in October and November 2025. To be added to the mailing list for updates, send your name and email address to phillyjazzapp@gmail.com.

Advocacy, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Moses Williams, Task Force 250

Black History Matters

April 20, 2025 Faye Anderson

With little fanfare, President Trump has tapped Hillsdale College to produce a video series, “The Story of America.” A member of the Project 2025 network, the conservative Christian college’s demographically monochromatic faculty and student body does not look like America.

The teaching of Black history is under attack from the White House to state houses. It is not in my DNA to bend the knee. I am speaking about Moses Williams at the upcoming public history teach-in co-hosted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and 1838 Black Metropolis.

Moses Williams was enslaved by Charles Willson Peale whose portrait of George Washington is prominently displayed in Trump’s tricked out Oval Office. The title of my presentation is “Mapping Moses Williams’ Philadelphia.”

On Friday, April 25, historian and artist Nell Irvin Painter will give a keynote address, “Arrived, New Names.” Painter “will set the tone for exploring how creative projects can share complicated and compelling histories.”

On Saturday, April 25, public historians, educators, artists, preservationists and community members will share strategies on how they are breathing life into the archives to tell untold or undertold stories, and stories of belonging.

The event is open to the public. To register, go here.

Advocacy, Artificial Intelligence, Moses Williams

Meet Moses Williams

February 9, 2025 Faye Anderson

Moses Williams (1776-1830) was born into slavery in Philadelphia, one month after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Williams was enslaved by “Portrait Painter of the Revolution” Charles Willson Peale who, as a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, voted for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act of 1780.

While enslaved, Williams was a factotum at Peale’s Museum. He participated in the first paleontological expedition in the new republic. As a skilled taxidermist, Williams was instrumental in the reconstruction of Peale’s exhumed mastodon.

Manumitted in 1802, Williams operated a physiognotrace (face tracing) machine “every day and evening” at Peale’s Museum which was located on the second floor of the building now known as Independence Hall.

Working in anonymity, Williams became a master silhouette artist and contributed to the success of Peale’s Museum.

Williams’ silhouettes are on view at, among other places, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts, Portrait Gallery in the Second Bank of the United States, The Peale Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, and in the archives of the American Philosophical Society.

Thomas Jefferson, president of the American Philosophical Society from 1797 to 1814, likely crossed paths with Williams whose silhouettes are on display in the Jefferson Library at Monticello.

Williams was the nation’s first Black museum professional. He excelled as a “cutter of profiles” and earned a place in history.

To recognize his impact on 19th century visual culture, All That Philly Founding Director Faye Anderson nominated Moses Williams for a Pennsylvania historical marker. If the nomination is approved, Williams’ marker will be dedicated in 2026, which is the 250th anniversary of both Williams’ birth and the Declaration of Independence.

Moses Williams will not be celebrated by President Trump’s Task Force 250, but we the people will say his name.

UPDATE: The nomination was approved. In 2026, the 250th anniversary of his birth, Moses Williams will be recognized with a Pennsylvania historical marker.

For too long, history remembered only his enslaver, Charles Willson Peale. This marker is a step toward telling the full story, reclaiming Williams’ legacy, and giving voice to the enslaved whose contributions shaped American art and culture.